The current state of the art for hybrid rocket ignition systems is largely based on pyrotechnic ignition methods. These methods have serious shortcomings including the inability to initiate multiple re-starts using a single device, thus, limiting the applicability of the hybrid rocket. Other shortcomings include significant physical and environmental hazards. For example, making rockets safer, less toxic, and less explosive comes at a significant cost. As the propellant materials become less volatile, they also become increasingly difficult to ignite. Combustion of hybrid propellants must be initiated by an igniter that provides sufficient heat to cause pyrolysis of the solid fuel grain at the head end of the motor, while simultaneously providing sufficient residual energy to overcome the activation energy of the propellants to initiate combustion. Thus, hybrid rockets have typically used large, high output pyrotechnic charges to initiate combustion. Such igniters are capable of producing very high-enthalpy outputs, but are extremely susceptible to hazards of electromagnetic radiation and present significant operational hazards. Most importantly, such pyrotechnic igniters are designed as “one-shot” devices that do not allow multiple re-start capability.